"I constantly get asked, especially in the first term, are you more like Laura Bush, or are you more like Hillary Clinton? And I'm like, 'Is that it'?" Obama said.

Bush noted she got similar questions: "Are you Hillary Clinton or Barbara Bush? And I always just said, well, I think I'll be Laura Bush; I do Laura Bush pretty well, having grown up as her."

But the first ladies also talked about the work they were able to do during their tenure on issues they are passionate about. Bush discussed her work for women in Afghanistan and starting a National Book festival, and both women stressed the need for more childhood education.

While they were meeting, President Obama joined his predecessor, former President George W. Bush, at the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania, for a ceremony honoring the victims of the 1998 embassy bombing.

The appearance at the African First Ladies Summit was Obama's last during her six-day African trip. The Obamas return to Washington later Tuesday.